maybe the scope of this question(s) should be pulled back from "racing" and instead look at "knowingly breaking traffic laws". Afterall, one guy, one fast car can ruin a lot of stuff. There doesn't need to be a "race" for all the painful realities and consequences.
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Right with you, Mantis. I have maybe 30 speeding tickets in four countries, but only two parking tickets, and zero accidents in 22 years driving. There's a time and place for speed and it is on us to judge the potential for disaster.

I'd like to be able to track daily, but as far as I know there are no useable tracks in my state. Certainly there are none nearby.

My state is a little quieter than most, though, and safe opportunities for spirited driving abound.

maybe the scope of this question(s) should be pulled back from "racing" and instead look at "knowingly breaking traffic laws". Afterall, one guy, one fast car can ruin a lot of stuff. There doesn't need to be a "race" for all the painful realities and consequences.

knowingly breaking traffic laws is quite different than street racing. although the consequences of breaking traffic laws are the same, the driving force behind it is completely different. the reality is, if i'm in a rush to get somewhere and i'm speeding, i'm able to tone it down when i see an unsafe situation.

street racing involves adrenaline, competition, pride and money. all these things make people push themselves beyond the limits of their skills and cars. the real, long lasting consequences such as property damage and death become an afterthought and all they care about is winning.

I'm still unsure where I stand on this. On public roadways it's a huge NO.

I never raced, but always went to the street races on back streets every Friday and Saturday throughout high school. There was never any traffic other than the coming and going of spectators. And it was sort of an unwritten rule that once you arrived at the strip you stay until the cops break it up to reduce the chance of accidents. If you parked on one of the side streets where racing did not take place, then you could come and go as you pleased.

It was mostly muscle cars, or jap cars like Supras and RX-7's. Even true drag set ups on Methanol. For at least 3 years that I went, there was never any bad blood. No fights, arguments or anything else. It wasn't until the hispanic gang members came that things got bad. They began starting fights, arguing, and I saw guns pulled several times. Eventually someone was shot (this was when I moved to college and only went on occassion). They ruined what were good times.

Then the cops started really cracking down, and the racing in all the hots spots around town was shut down. I know there are some spots out there still, but I don't have an interest anymore and I have no clue where they are.

And I will say my parents knew I was going to the races. My mom was always sort of worried, but my dad knew I never raced and parked in the spots behind the starting line. Plus, my dad always went to the street races with friends as a kid. One of his buddies dads owned a car dealership and had a new Vette every 6 months.

Street racing is not at all OK. Whether the road is empty or not. If you want to race go to controlled enviornment and race. By racing on the street you are not only putting your self in danger you are putting others also in danger.

Speeding in my books it is not a cool thing to do. Have I done it ? Yes. I am trying to cut down on my speeding. Even though I speed there are no of places I never do. Like Resedential area, School zone, play ground zone I just can't see my self touching the steering wheel if I ever hit some one because of speeding.

Satakal - I was being brief. I have raced on public roadways, but never with people/traffic around. I can only think of twice I ever raced in the US, and both were on open roads. Consider that the nearest city is 2.5 hours away. No races I have been in were official or formal, and all were in good spirits, so had anything impeded, I'm sure we would have dropped the matter. I once dropped out of a race outside of Passau because I didn't feel safe at the speeds we were moving at.

I think the generalized descriptors of street racers tend to presume A) city driving, B) youth, C) ego over practicality. I avoid cities like the plague, so A is out. I'm 38, so B is moot, and I'd like to think I had C down as well. When I speed I do not do so in a dangerous manner, and when I race there are no cars around other than my compatriot/s.

Also for the sake of brevity, I stated that there are no racetracks in my state. There are in fact two small circle tracks (one dirt and one paved) and a drag strip.

My point in the previous post is that I accept responsibility for my actions because I address them rationally. I'm no more likely to race (or speed) when there are gross risks about than I am to race for pinks. I don't like the potential consequences.